Earthquake loading lesson 1

  1. Earthquake loading lesson 1

Earthquake loading is usually a reminisce of striking ground movements for all of us. Its been always a frightening matter for occupants as well as structural engineers. Unfortunately there are many common mistakes in both construction and design of multi-story buildings that eventually lead to collapse. As a result I have decided to devote a seri of articles to investigated and introduce these mistakes in hope that they will not be repeated in the future.

In this article, I want to talk about the source of earth quake and lesson by lesson we discuss about more technical issues related to seismic loading of structures.

What causes an earthquake?

When tectonic plates move they apply pressure to each other. There are 3 general types of boundary between two plates. However the movement of plates are so slow, but depends on the type of boundary it can store energy just like a spring.  If the ground surface suddenly breaks due these movements the energy stored over a long period of time will be released instantly and causes a shock to the system. This sudden release of energy is what we know as earthquake. If the location of this energy release is somewhere underwater, it can cause tsunami. Earthquake waves are transferred quickly through the ground and can destroy every barrier such as buildings until they are worn off.

As civil engineers we have to do everything we can to make our structures resistant against these likely seismic loading. In the next article of this seri you will learn about different types of seismic waves cause by earthquake loading.

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